Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Healthy Hair Product Toolbox

Hey, HHJs! For those
just starting off on their natural hair journey, I thought it might be helpful
to list some of the key items needed for your healthy hair product toolbox. To get more details on specific products that
I use in each category, visit my Favorite Products page or my Amazon store. In full disclaimer, Amazon does pay me a
commission on items purchased from my Amazon store.

Shampoo or Cleanser- You need something that
will bind to oil, dirt and product buildup to remove it from your hair.If you are low porosity, like me, then simply
conditioner washing will not always be enough.You need something with cleansing agents in it.I've been working on a cleansing agent post
for about a month now, so it should be up soon.

Rinse Out / Instant Conditioner - The
purpose of a rinse out conditioner is to balance ph levels and coat the hair
cuticles to make it easier to detangle the hair.In other words, while shampoo binds to oil
and dirt, conditioner binds to hair (adsorbs to hair).

Deep Conditioner- These are particularly
important if your hair is damaged, needs an intense moisture boost, or needs a
protein boost.Deep conditioners are
left on the hair for awhile to give them time to penetrate the hair.There are three types of deep conditioners
(moisturizing, protein and hybrids).I've already covered protein conditioners in a prior post.Because I have low porosity and fine strands,
I personally prefer hybrids containing light proteins.

Leave-in Conditioner - These are lighter
conditioners that are mild enough that they can be left on the hair long
term.Some instant conditioners can
double as leave-ins, but some have ingredients that can irritate the scalp with
time.

Moisturizer- I already have a post on finding a great moisturizer.Water is
the best moisturizer, so any “moisturizing” product should have water as the
first or second ingredient.Some leave-in
conditioners can double as moisturizers.

Sealant- This would be an oil or butter based
product.I don’t usually use a straight
oil or butter to seal water into my hair as it is less necessary for low porosity
ladies.Instead, I use a cream or
lotion, which is a mixture of water and oil/butter held together by an emulsifier
like BTMS.

Based on the
above, you probably could get by with a good cleanser, a deep conditioner, and
an instant conditioner that multi-tasks as a rinse out, leave-in and
moisturizer. I'm just not that efficient
because I’m a product junkie.